WATCH: Airline Officers Drag Man Off of Overbooked United Airlines Flight

 

A number of airline officials were filmed Sunday night dragging a man off his flight from Chicago to Louisville after United Airlines booked too many seats on the plane.

The incident took place at O’Hare International Airport. According to WHAS 11, the plane was overbooked, and the airline was asking volunteers to catch later flights and make room for United employees in route for their next flights. In a video that’s blowing up on social media, a man claiming to be a doctor refused to give up his seat, which led to a confrontation with airline officials.

Reports indicate that the man explained he needed to attend to patients in Louisville. Security ended up forcibly removing him from his seat as passengers looked on in horror. The man was eventually let back on the flight, though he was reportedly bloody and disoriented from the encounter. The plane left the airport two hours behind schedule.

The videos received considerable online reactions from those who found the encounter disturbing:

“Flight 3411 from Chicago to Louisville was overbooked,” said a United spokesman who responded to the incident. “After our team looked for volunteers, one customer refused to leave the aircraft voluntarily and law enforcement was asked to come to the gate. We apologize for the overbook situation.”

Watch above.

UPDATE –– 1:48 p.m. ET: United CEO Oscar Munoz has apologized for “having to re-accommodate these customers.”

UPDATE –– 3:07 p.m. ET: At least one of the officers involved in the dustup has reportedly been suspended.

[Image via screengrab]

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